Caribbean Surname Index

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I am seeking information on John Nix (Nicks) who emigrated from England to Barbados in 1634 and owned a plantation there. He lived in Barbados until his death in 1685. I am also interested in any information available on his sons - James and Richard Nix. I will be traveling to Barbados in about three weeks and would like to locate John's gravesite and/or the location of his plantation. Any archival information would be greatly appreciated. I have considerable information on the family line after they left Barbados, but nothing during their tenure there.

There are no other tombstone/burial records there for any NIX, and the site plantations.bb is not working.

If you wish, a competent researcher in Barbados I recommend who knows intimately all of the resources available is Dr. Patricia Stafford, B.A., PhD, phone 1-246-428-2103, or by email through the contact form here...http://www.caribbeanavenue.com/stafford/index.html

Thanks for taking the time to respond and for suggesting a researcher. I know there is some additional information on John in the archives there in Barbados as a native Barbadian who now lives in British Columbia located some information on him while researching her own lineage in Barbados. Unfortunately, at the time, I thought that John Nix Nix was not in my line. I read the info and then discarded it. I have kicked myself many times over for doing so. We are taking a cruise out of Miami which will give us a day in Barbados on February 1st which is a Wednesday. The Archives and the Museum/Historical Society should be open that day. From what I can gather, the information in the 1600's is quite incomplete. I have a copy of the plantation owners from 1638 which has John's name on it, but that's about it. John's son, James, is listed in the parish records in Virginia as the father of Edward Nix. Through genetic genealogy, I have established that Edward is my ancestor. Given that James was Ed's father, that would link me to John and my Carib roots. There are a number of family genealogists with whom I am in correspondence. We have some documentation of Ed and his progeny, but lack a paper trail on John. I am unsure as to which parish he might have belonged to in Barbados. We lack documentation on the birth of his children which would likely have been recorded in the parish records. I have never been to Barbados and I am looking forward to seeing it.

If you are going to be there and doing some genealogy tourism, may I suggest that your time in the island would be enormously enhanced if Dr. Stafford were to get the necessary research done beforehand and if necessary meet and guide you through locations like the Museum and/or the Archives, perhaps collecting photos and documents on the way. Her rates are very reasonable, perhaps ask her for a quote before you start. And meeting her there would give you an opportunity to ask questions and flesh out your pictures of details "back in the day"

If you decide to rent a car, John Mann's BajanNav GPS mapping is now available (free of charge) at http://www.accu-nav.com/BajanNav/BajanNav.html, and his web site http://www.bariffle.com provides additional assistance through a browser by way of locations of various locations of interest and special deals. Certainly worth investigating... and remember that in Barbados they drive on the left ("wrong") side of the road, same as the British!!

Best wishes in your research, and I hope you enjoy your Barbados experience.

From "Hotten's Lists" I see that your John Nicks, aged 23, was transported to Barbadoes in the ship "Hopewell" and left London on 17 February, 1634. The passengers all took the "oath of Allegiance and Supremacie".

Thank you for your guidance and suggestions. Where might I obtain a copy of the oath of allegiance and supremacie? I am assuming that it was an oath to His Majesty, the King of England.

I will be in touch with Dr. Stafford in order to discuss a search with her.

Jim, you have been most helpful. The Bajan's here in British Columbia gather on special occasions to celebrate and I have been to one of the celebrations. They all feel a kinship and certainly know how to party!!! I am anxious to view the country/island in order to see not only my roots, but also the beauty which I have heard about and only seen in pictures.

The oath was proclaimed law on 22 June 1606. It contained seven affirmations, and was targeted on "activist political ideology". The clause against the papal deposing power read:

"I, A.B., do truly and sincerely acknowledge, &c. that our sovereign lord, King James, is lawful and rightful King &c. and that the pope neither of himself nor by any authority of Church or See of Rome, or by any other means with any other, has any power to depose the king &c., or to authorize any foreign prince to invade him &c., or to give licence to any to bear arms, raise tumults, &c. &c. Also I do swear that notwithstanding any sentence of excommunication or deprivation I will bear allegiance and true faith to his Majesty &c. &c. And I do further swear that I do from my heart abhor, detest, and abjure, as impious and heretical this damnable doctrine and position,--that princes which be excommunicated by the pope may be deposed or murdered by their subjects or by any other whatsoever. And I do believe that the pope has no power to absolve me from this oath. I do swear according to the plain and common sense, and understanding of the same words &c. &c. &c" (3 James I, c. 4).

(Most of the people of that day could not read or write, so I think it's likely they had no idea of the full importance or completeness of what they were signing but - like the option of going through Security at today's airports - if they wanted to travel they had to affix their "X", so I think it's safe to assume that's what they did. - Jim)

Jim, thanks once more for the information which you have provided to me. The Oath was a bit like all of the fine print on a car rental contract. No one reads it or knows what it states and they simply sign where the rental car agent tells them to sign. I noted that you are located in Toronto. It is my understanding that the Canadian citizenship oath has been changed such that new citizens are no longer required to swear allegiance to the "Queen, her heirs, and assigns". I also understand that the Ontario Provincial Police have had their oath modified such that they are swearing allegiance to Canada. It is interesting that we still have oaths of allegiance to the Sovereign and that we can be "inherited".

Jim, I personally went to the National Archives in Barbados and searched the records there. I did not find anything new on John Nix (Nicks). The books in the Archive are crumbling and held together literally by string. I did not find any record of John's demise. I am assuming that his records were among the parish records which did not survive the various disasters which have left us with a dearth of material. I do hope that someone gets in and digitizes the remaining records before they completely become dust.

I have made several personal efforts to get the LDS and UNESCO to start digitising there, but the Keeper of the Jail tells everyone all is well, there are no problems there. As recently as two weeks ago I communicated with someone who was sent my messages and wanted my assessment - I told them all I knew, and that the researchers who muse the Archives had confirmed what you said - and much more.

The documents in the worst shape are taken away from public use, locked in the safe with the termites and worms, and there they can eat undisturbed until there is nothing remaining of all our data but insect excreta dust.

So that criminal "I'm the Boss here" attitude prevails, more the pity. And there seems to be nothing we can do about it.

The ladies working in the archives were helpful and brought a lot of books out. They did state that they had some other books which were very fragile. They are single copies and are only brought out if a researcher specifically asks for them. The books which I had that they brought to me on the chance that there might be some information in them were all handwritten ledgers and in poor condition. They only have some records from two of the parishes. The only listing I could find under Nix in the death ledger had only the single name of John. I was told by the Archivists that the single name entries were slaves. I must admit that the other names listed were complete names. They were quite certain that it wasn't my ancestor and looking at the system used, I tend to agree with them.

I never found John Nix on the passenger list of the Hopewell. The Hopewell was engaged in sailing back and forth between Barbados and England. I surmise that they returned to England with a cargo of tobacco.

Even though the records pertaining to John Nix have been destroyed a long time ago, I hate to see what is happening to the archived records. If we could only convince them that the genealogical records would bring in researchers (aka MONEY), they might see the record preservation as an investment even if they do not see them as a national treasure. I was not the only one there doing genealogical research. I hope the others had more luck than I did.

My position on ALL paper records is that, even if bright light deteriorates the paper (as many institutions claim), they should be digitised as soon as possible (which requires bright lights).

And I maintain this because the value is not in the paper but in the ink - when the paper is gone, the records are gone.

If records have been digitised, the paper is no longer needed because the record - the information - remains available for researchers for centuries into the future. A digital copy can be viewed directly, archived in a thousand research locations, and even used to print another thousand copies of that record - every year if necessary.

We are of like mind, but we are dealing with people who are either uninformed, don't want to spend the time and money, or simply don't care enough to save the records. It would be a valuable gift to future generations to preserve the records in digital form so the information could live on.

If I'm understanding the current posts, the information on the different genealogy sites (Familysearch, Ancestry, etc.) regarding John Nix is not correct? As in he was not from/did not travel to Barbados?

Some unverified information that may be tied to Barbados. John Nix (or John Nicks) was born 22 Feb 1611 in London. May be the one that went to Barbados and owned a plantation. He had several children, including sons Richard (born c. 1637), James (born c. 1642 or 1656), John (born c. 1643, possibly died 1687), and Frances (born c. 1645).

His son James Nix was born in Hanover, Virginia. James Nix had a son named Edward Nix, born in St. Peter's Parish, Virginia, on 7 Nov 1686. Edward had a son also named Edward Nix, born 9 Aug 1728 in Hanover, Virginia. Edward had a son names Charles Nix, born in 1776 in South Carolina. I know Charles Nix is my 5th great-grandfather, but I have not been able to fully confirm the line back to London, via Barbados. Any information would be helpful. I do have DNA uploaded to Ancestry.com and GEDmatch under jamesrrobison.